Acetylene generator



AGETYLENE GENERATOR Filed May 18, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l 4/ m2.- 40/52940, (7T-H M5 5y M l W ATTORNEY May l, 1934.

A. J. FAUSEK Er Al.

ACETYLENE GENERATOR Filed May 18, 1951 3 Sheets-SheetV 3 .l ll w A FMA/55K ArroE/YEV Patented May 1, 1934 UNITED STATES ACETYLENE GENERATOR Arthur J. Fausek and Irwing F. Fausek, Clayton, Mo.

Application May 18, 1931, Serial No. 538,111

7 Claims.

This invention relates generally to acetylene generators and more specifically to improved means for agitating the carbide of an acetylene generator in the vicinity of the valve which controls passage of carbide from the carbide hopper of the generator to the gas producing chamber thereof, the predominant object of the invention being to provide an extremely simple agitating mechanism which will function with the maximum efficiency.

Another extremely important object of the invention is to provide improved means whereby the agitation of the carbide of the generator may be controlled in a manner to arrest such vibration at tinies when it is not desired to feed carbide from the hopper of the generator to the gas producing chamber thereof.

Fig. l is a side elevation of an acetylene generator constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical section of the upper portion of the generator illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the improved means for controlling the agitation of the carbide of the generator.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional View illustrating a modilied form of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View illustrating a modied form of the means for controlling the agitation of the carbide of the generator.

Fig. 6 is a plan view on a reduced scale of the means illustrated in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings, wherein is shown for the purpose of illustration, merely, several embodiments of the invention, and particularly to Figs. l, 2, and 3 thereof, A designates our improved acetylene generator generally. The generator A comprises an upper housing 1 which encloses the carbide hopper 2 oi the generator (Fig. 2), said hopper 2 being provided with an inclined bottom 3 which is provided with a central openu ing 4, and an inlet opening 5 in its top wall 2 which is closed by a suitable closure element 5. Also the top wall 2 of the hopper 2 is provided with an opening rl which is intended for a purpose to be hereinafter set forth. The upper housing 1 oi the generator is supported upon a lower housing 8 which provides the gas producing chamber of the generator, said upper housing and said lower housing being provided with annular ilanges 9 which receive suitable fastening devices 10 which secure said upper and lower housings together. ln the operation of the generator the lower housing 8 receives a body oi water (not shown), said water beingintroduced into said lower housing through an inlet opening ll which is closed by a suitable closure element 12. Also the lower housing is provided with a discharge opening i3 through which the more or less liquid contents of the housing may be withdrawn therefrom, passage through said discharge opening being controlled by a manually operated Valve 14.

Supported on top wall of the upper housing 1 of the generator is a diaphragm housing 15 which comprises a lower portion 16 and an upper portion 17, said lower portion 16 of said diaphragm housing being so proportioned and arranged that the outer marginal portion of the bottom wall of said lower portion is supported by the portion of the top wall of the upper housing l which is located adjacent to the marginal edge of the opening '7 in said top wall. In order to provide a gastight joint between the portion l of the diaphragm housing and the top wall of the upper housing 1 we interpose a gasket 18 therebetween as shown clearly in Fig. 2.

lThe bottom wall of the lower portion 16 of the diaphragm housing 15 is provided with a downwardly directed screw-threaded extension 19 which is located in the opening 7 in the top Wall of the upper housing 1, and screwed on this extension 19 is a cylindrical element 20, said cylindrical element being extended downwardly in the hopper 2 of the generator. Located within the cylindrical element 20 and extended upwardly therein is an inner member 2l which includes a horizontal wall 22 which provides the cylindrical element 20 with a bottom wall, and an upwardly extended portion 23 which is disposed within the cylindrical element 20 and is provided with an opening 24 formed therethrough which extends from top to bottom of said portion 23. The portion 23 of the inner member 21 is of substantially less diameter than the inner diameter of the cylindrical element 20 so as to provide an annular space 25 between the inner face of the cylindrical element 20 and the outer face of the portion 23 of the inner member 21. Also by preference the portion 23 of the inner member 21 is of reduced outer diameter at its upper end to pro- 100 vide a thin annular wall 26 as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The horizontal wall 22 of the inner member 21 and the cylindrical element 20 are welded or otherwise secured together to provide a uidtight joint between said portions.

The bottom wall of the lower portion 16 of the diaphragm housing 15 is provided with an integral tubular member 27 which is extended downwardly into the cylindrical element 20, and extended through said tubular member and 110 through the opening 24 in the portion 23 of the inner member 21 is a valve stern 28. The valve stem 28 at its lower end has fixed thereto in any suitable manner a valve 29 which as will presently appear is movable toward and from a Valve 115 seat provided by the marginal edge of the opening 4, and at its upper end said valve stem is connected through the instrumentality of a slot and pin connection 30 to an arm 3l which is pivoted at 32 to a suitable support 33 which is fixed to the 120 bottom wall of the lower portion 16 of the diaphragm housing 15.

Disposed within the diaphragm housing is a diaphragm 34 which is held in place by having its marginal edge portion clamped between the upper and lower portions or" said diaphragm housing, said clamping action being obtained through the instrumentality of fastening devices 35 which are extended downwardly through openings formed in the upper and lower portions of the diaphragm housing 15 and are screwed into screwthreaded openings in the top wall 2 of the upper housing 1. The top wall of the upper portion of the diaphragm housing 15 is provided with an upwardly extended portion 36 which is provided with a screwthreaded opening formed therethrough, and screwed into said screwthreaded opening is an upstanding tubular element 37.

, The upper end portion of the tubular element 37 is screwthreaded and screwed on said screwthreaded portion of said tubular element is a cap 38. rI'he cap 38 is provided with a portion 39 of reduced diameter which is provided with upstanding, circumferentially spaced tooth-like elements A t wardly as shown clearly in Fig. 2.

Disposed longitudinally within the tubular element 37 is a rod 44-which is provided with a screwthreaded vupper end portion on which a nut is screwed, said nut being screwed into Y close contact with a washer 46 which is interposed between said nut and the top edge of the tubular portion 43 of the cap 38. The rod 44 at its lower end is provided with a head 47 to which the arm 31 is pivotally attached at 48, said head at its lower end being provided with an extension 47 which is adapted to contact with the top face of the bottom wall of the lower portion 16 of the diaphragm housing 15, and at its upper end being provided with a shoulder 49. Immediately above the shoulder 49 of the head 47 the rod 44 is provided with a screwthreaded portion 50 of enlarged diameter. Arranged at the top and bottom faces of the diaphragm 34 are disks 51 and 52 through which the screwthreaded portion 50 of the rod 44 extends, the inner portion of the disk 52 being interposed between the lower face of the diaphragm and the shoulder 49 of the head 47, while the inner portion of the disk 5l is interposed between the upper face of the diaphragm and a nut 53 which is screwed downwardly on the screwthreaded portion 50 of the rod 44. In this manner the diaphragm 34 is securely fixed to the rod 44 inasmuch as said diaphragm, together with the disks 51 and 52 are tightly clamped between the nut 53 and the shoulder 49 of the head 47.

Arranged about the rod 44 is a coil spring 54 which contacts at one of its ends with the disk 51 and at its opposite end with a spring seat 55 which is arranged in contact with the bottom face of the cap 38. The coil spring tends to force the diaphragm 34 downwardly, such downward movement being limited by Contact of the extension 47 of the head 47 with the top face of the bottom wall of the portion 16 of the diaphragm housing.

At the upper end of the rod 44 an operating arm 56 is provided which is operable to move the rod 44 upwardly and in this manner operate the arm 31 so as to draw the valve 29 upwardly toward the valve seat provided by the marginal edge of the opening 4 in the inclined bottom wall of the hopper 2'. The operating arm 56 is provided with a portion which embraces the tubular portion 43 of the cap 38 and the washer 46 which contacts with the top edge of said tubular portion contacts also with the top face of said portion of the operating arm. The operating arm 56 is provided with a downwardly extended portion which surrounds the tubular portion 43 referred to, and this downwardly extended portion is provided with circumerentially spaced, tooth-like portions which cooperate with the tooth-like portions formed on the cap 38. In other words the toothlike portions of the operating arm 56 are provided with inclined faces 57 and fiat faces 58 and 59 which cooperate with the inclined faces 40, and flat faces 41 and 42 in a manner to cause the operating handle 56 to be cammed upwardly by the tooth-like elements of the cap when said operating handle is rotated with respect to said cap. When the operating handle 56 is rotated and cammed upwardly as described the rod 44 will be elevated due to the contact between said handle and the washer 46 with the result that the arm 3l will be moved upwardly about its pivot and the valve 29 will be moved to a closed position with respect to the opening 4 in the bottom wall of the hopper 2.

Secured to the valve stem 28 at a point within the tubular element 2O is an inverted bell 28 which extends downwardly within the tubular element from its point of attachment to said valve stem. The lower end of the inverted bell 28a is open and the lower portion of said bell is submerged in a body 28b of mercury or other ies suitable uid. The inverted bell 28a is provided 3 2 with an annular bafile 28c which serves to prevent the mercury from being accidentally splashed into the opening 24 in the portion 23 of the inner member 21. The inverted bell encloses substantially all of the upwardly extended portion 23 of the inner member' 21 as shown clearly in Fig. 2.

60 designates a short section of pipe (Fig. 1) which is screwed into a screwthreaded opening communicating with the interior of the upper housing 1 of the generator A, said short section of pipe being connected by an elbow 61 to a pipe section 62. The pipe section 62 communicates with the interior of a valve housing 63 as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 3. The valve housing 63 comprises a main body portion 64 with which a j.

of the valve housing as shown in Fig. 3. The diaphragm hood 65 is provided with an upstanding, tubular portion 65 which is internally screwthreaded at its upper end and screwed into said screwthreaded Lipper end of the tubular portion 65 is a guide member 63 which is provided with an opening 70. The guide member 69 is prevented from receiving unintentional movement by a locking element 71.

Arranged at the lower face of the diaphragm 68 is a head 72 which includes a bifurcated portion 73, the spaced legs or" which are provided with slots 74. Also said head is provided with an extension 'which is adapted to contact with a stop formed on the bottom wall of the body portion of the valve housing 63. Disposed longitudinally within the tubular portion of diaphragm hood 65 is a stem 76, the upper end of which is guided within the opening in the guide member 69. The stem 76 is provided with a screwthreaded lower end portion which is screwed into a screwthreaded opening 77 for-med in the head 72, said stem being provided also with a portion 78 of increased diameter which is disposed in an opening formed in the diaphragm at the approximate center thereof. The difference in the diameters of the screwthreaded lower end portion of the stem 76 and the portion 78 of said stem provides a shoulder 79 which contacts with the top face of the head 72, and also the stem 76 is provided with an annular outwardly extended flange 89 which is provided with a curved upper face. interposed between the top face of the diaphragm and the bottom face of the flange 80 is a disk 81 as shown clearly in Fig. 3. Located within the tubular portion 65v of the diaphragm hood 65 is a coil spring 82 which contacts at one of its ends with a portion of the guide member 69, and at its opposite end with a spring seat 83 which is rockably supported by the curved face of the flange 88 on the stem 76. The coil spring 82 tends to force the diaphragm 68 downwardly whereby the stem 76 and head 72 would be likewise forced downwardly.

The body portion 64 of the valve housing 63 is provided with a passageway 84 which communicates with the portion of the diaphragm chamber 67- beneath the diaphragm 68, said passageway being closed at its outer end by a suitable plug 84. The top wall ci the passageway 84 is provided with an opening 85 which places said passageway 84 in communication with the interior of a housing 86 which is secured to said top wall of the passageway 84. rlhe housing 86 .Y is provided with a vertically disposed, tubular guiding element 87 for a ball valve element 88, said ball valve element being adapted to close the opening in the top wall of the passageway 84 as shown in Fig. 3. The tubular guiding element 87 is of such reduced diameter that an annular space is provided between the outer face thereof and the inner face of the housing 86, and also the lower edge of said tubular guiding element is spaced upwardly from the top wall of the 'passageway 84. Pivotally secured to suitable supporting means 89 located within the lower por tion of the diaphragm chamber 67 in an arm 99 which is provided with an angular extension which extends into the opening 85 in the top wall of the passageway 84. The arm, 90 is extended between the spaced legs of the bifurcated portion 73 or" the head 72 and said arm is connected to said head by a pin 91 which is supported by the arm 90 and extends from the opposite side faces thereof into the slots 74 in the spaced legs of the head.

Arranged in communication with the interior of the housing 86 and extended therefrom is a section of pipe 92 which communicates with a i pipe 93. This pipe 93 communicates at its upper end with a section of pipe 94 which communi- Cates with the portion of the interior of the diaphragm housing l5 which is located beneath the diaphragm 34, and at its lower end with a section of pipe 95 which leads to a check valve 96 located within the flash-back 97 of the generator. The flash-back 97 is of ordinary construction being provided with inlet opening 97a through which water may be introduced into said flashback, and having a safety valve 9-7b associated therewith for controlling the pressure within said flash-back. Also said flash-back is provided with an outlet conductor 98 through which gas may be drawn.

In order to prevent improper handling of the generator by careless or inexperienced persons we provide the upstanding portion 86 of the diaphragm housing 15 with an upper cylindrical portion 36 of reduced diameter, and associate with said upper cylindrical portion an operating handle 180 which is provided with a portion that embraces said portion 36 in such manner that the operating handle is supported for rotary movement about said portion 36'. Also an element 99 is employed which maintains the operating handle in position on the portion 36. The operating handle 100 is provided with a guard 101 which may be positioned in such close proximity to the closure element 6 that said closure element may not be removed without displacing the guard, and said handle is also provided with an element 102 which is adapted to engage the operating arm 56. In like manner the operating handle is pro vided with an extension 103 which is connected by a link 104 to an arm 105 associated with the safety valve 917b of the flash-back 97.

With the guard 101 in place adjacent to the closure element 6, it is unlikely that said closure element would be thoughtlessly removed, and when the operating handle is rotated about the portion 36' and between the stops 99 to displace the guard so that the closure element may be ree moved the operating arm 56 will be moved by the element 102 so as to draw the valve 29 to a closed position at the opening 4 in the bottom of the hopper 2. Also each time the operating handle is operated the valve element of the safety valve 97b is moved with respect to its seat whereby sticking of said valve element is prevented.

In the operation of our` improved acetylene generator carbide within the hopper 2 is fed through the opening 4 in the bottom wall of said hopper and falls into the body of water within the lower housing 8 of the generator. As a result of the particles of carbide falling into the water within the lower housing gas is formed which passes upwardly through thev opening 4 into. the upper portion of the upper housing 1, some of said gas passing upwardly through the opening 24 in the portion 23- oif the inner member 21 to the space within upper por-tion of the inverted bell 28e. above the surface of the body of mercury 28h. The remainder of the gas which passes from the lowerhousing 8 through the opening 4 to the upper housing 1 passes through the conductor provided by the pipe sections 60 and 62, and the elbow 61 to the interior of the valve housing 63l wherein said gas passes through the portion of the diaphragm chamber 67 beneath the diaphragm and through the passageway 84. Free passage of the gas through the opening 85 is interfered with by the ball valve element 88 which must be lifted by the pressure of the gas before said gas may pass through said opening 85. As the pressure of the gas increases to a predetermined point the ball valve element 88 is elevated by said pressure with the result that the gas will ow through the conductors provided byL the pipes 92, 93, 94, and 95 to the portion of the diaphragm housing 15 located beneath the dia.- phragm 3.4 and to the check valve 96 submerged in the body of water within the flash-back 97.

When the` appartus is in its normal operating condition the gas pressurev throughout, the appa-v ratus is substantially uniform; that is to say the 98 communicates.

gas pressures within the lower housing 8, upper housing 1, lower portion of the diaphragm housing 16, the valve housing 63, and the various conductors of the apparatus will be substantially the same throughout. Also the gas pressure outside of the portion of the inverted bell 28a above the surface of the mercury will be substantially the same as the gas pressure within the upper portion of the inverted bell above the surface of said mercury. With the generator in the condition described and in operation the gas pressure within lower and upper housings and within the upper portion of the inverted bell 28a will be rendered relatively higher than the gas pressure within the conductors comprised of--the pipe sections 92, 93, 94, and 95, and at the outside of the upper portion of the inverted bell 28a, as gas is drawn from the hash-back 97 through the outlet conductor 98 thereof, and as this predominance in pressure is felt at the ball valve element 88 said element will be elevated to permit passage of an amount of gas into said conductors produced by the pipes 92, 93, 94, and 95. The amount of gas which passes through the opening as described is very small inasmuch asthe passage of such small amount of gas causes the pressure beneath the ball valve element to be immediately reduced to a point where gravity will cause said ball valve element to be reseated. Immediately before the ball valve element 88 was unseated as just described the pressure within the upper portion of the inverted valve was momentarily higher than the pressure outside of said upper portion ofsaid inverted bell with the result that said inverted bell was subjected to slight upward movement from within. However as the ball valve element is unseated to permit a small amount of gas to pass through the opening 85 the gas pressure within the upper portion of the inverted bell is reduced and the pressure outside of said Lipper portion of said inverted bell is increased with the result that the inverted bell will be subjected to slight downward movement from without.

As the small amount of gas is permitted to pass through the opening 85 by unseating the ball valve element 88 the gas pressure in the conductor comprising the pipes 92, 93, 94, and 95 is increased for a moment only as such increased pressure is immediately relieved by virtue of the fact that such increased pressure in said conductor will be suilicient to unseat the check valve 96 and permit a small amount of gas to pass upwardly through the body of water in the ash-back to the upper portion of said flash-back with which the outlet However during this moment the increased pressure will be felt at the outside of the upper portion of the inverted bell with the result that said inverted bell will be subjected to the slight downward movement described.

It is plain therefore that the gas pressures at opposite sides of the opening 85 are continually changing causing rapid seating and unseating of the ball valve element 88A which functions as a gas flow interrupter and because of these rapid changes of pressure the inverted bell 28a is subjected to rapid movement whereby like movement is imparted to the valve 29. rThe movement of the valve referred to will result in the carbide in the vicinity thereof being agitated whereby proper feeding of said carbide through the opening 4 is accomplished. It is import-ant to note that any slight movement to which the diaphragm 34 may be subjected by the gas pressures beneath said diaphragm will not cause the valve 29 to be agitated inasmuch as the slot and pin connection 30 betweenvalve stem 28 and the arm 3l will not transmit any such slight movements to said valve.

It has been found that when the valve 29 is not agitated carbide will not be fed through the opening 4 even though the valve 29 be in an open condition, and We take advantage of this fact to control the feeding of carbide into the water within the lower housing 8 of the generator. In the operation of every acetylene generator there is a point beyond which gas pressure within the generator should not go, and in the operation of our improved generator the diaphragm 68 within the valve housing 63 is adapted to resist any pressure below said maximum pressure. In the normal operation of the generator, therefore, the diaphragm 68 will be unaffected by the gas pressures passing through the valve housing and the apparatus will function as already described. Assume, however, that the pressure within the generator rises beyond the maximum pressure intended. The result of this condition will be that the diaphragm 68 will be immediately moved upwardly by the excessive pressure to which it is exposed whereby the ball valve element will be unseated by the extension of the arm 90. This will permit the gas to pass uninterrupted through the opening 85, thus rendering the gas pressure within and without the upper portion of the inverted bell 28a substantially uniform, whereby the agitation of the inverted bell is arrested with the result that no agitating movement is imparted to the valve 29 which would serve to feed the carbide through the opening 4.

It is obvious, therefore, that the agitation of the carbide in the vicinity of the valve 29 is completely controlled by the pressure of gas within the apparatus, hence, there is no likelihood that agitation of the carbide will be continued when, because of excessive gas pressure within the generator, it is not desired to feed carbide to the gas producing chamber of said generator.

In Fig. 4l we illustrate a form of the invention in accordance with which the same diaphragm which moves the valve 29 to open and closed positions also functions to unseat the valve 88 when the gas pressure within the generator becomes dangerously excessive. In this view the diaphragm 34 is connected to the valve stem 28' so that the valve 29 may be moved to opened and closed positions by said diaphragm, and in addition to this said diaphragm has associated with it an arm 106 which cooperatively connects the diaphragm with the valve or gas flow interrupter 88. In the operation of the generator illustrated in Fig. i the valve 88' will function just as does the ball valve element 88 of the preferred form of the invention to permit repeated small amounts of gas to pass through the openin'CT at which the valve 88 is located, whereby, in the manner already explained, the inverted bell 107 and the valve 29' will be subjected to agitation. However if the gas pressure within the generator becomes excessively high the diaphragm 34 will be moved upwardly with the result that the valve 88 will be unseated, hence, the gas pressure within and without the upper portion of the inverted bell 107 will be rendered uniform and agitation thereof will cease. Also such upward movement of the diaphragm will result in the valve 29 being drawn toward its seat.

In Figs. 5 and 6 a modified form of the valve mechanism illustrated in Fig. 3 is shown. In the normal operation of the structure illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 gas enters the valve housing 63' through the inlet conductor 62 and passes around the upstanding tubular element 107 to the passageway 84', said gas then elevating the ball valve element 83a and passing through the opening 85 to the interior of the housing 86. From the interior of the housing 85 the gas passes through the outlet conductor 92' to conductors which lead, for instance, to a diaphragm housing and check valve such as those designated by the reference characters 15 and 96 respectively in Fig. 1.

The interior of the upst/anding tubular element 10'7 of Fig. 5 is placed in communication with a by-pass 108 located outside of the valve housing 63 by a conductor 109 which extends transversely of a portion of the annular space 110 within the valve housing which surrounds the upstanding tubular element 107', said by-pass being connected to the conductor 92' as shown in Fig. 6.

When in the operation of an acetylene generator provided with the structure illustrated in Fig. 5 the gas pressure becomes undesirably high the diaphragm 68' will be exed upwardly with the result that the gas will ow downwardly into the tubular element and will pass from said tubular element through the transverse conductor 109 and by-pass 108 to the conductors associated with the conductor 92. Thus the valve or gas flow interrupter 88a will be rendered inoperative and agitation of the carbide agitating means of the generator will be arrested.

We claim:

1. An acetylene generator including a gas producing chamber, a carbide hopper, a valve for controlling passage of carbide from said carbide hopper to said gas producing chamber, a valve stem connected to said valve, and means for agitating said valve to induce the flow of carbide from said carbide hopper to said gas producing chamber, said means comprising a hollow element containing liquid, an inverted bell connected to said valve stem and having a portion thereof submerged in said liquid, means for conducting gas to the interior of said inverted bell, means for conducting gas to the exterior of said inverted bell, and an interrupter for interrupting passage of gas to said inverted bell.

2. An acetylene generator including a gas producing chamber, a carbide hopper, a valve for controlling passage of carbide from said carbide hopper to said gas producing chamber, a valve stem connected to said valve, means for agitating said valve to induce the flow of carbide from said carbide hopper to said gas producing chamber, said means comprising a hollow element containing liquid, an inverted bell connected to said valve stem and having a portion thereof submerged in said liquid, means for conducting gas to the interior of said inverted bell, means for conducting gas to the exterior of said inverted bell, and an interrupter for interrupting passage of gas to said inverted bell, and pressure-responsive means for moving said valve to open and closed positions.

3. An acetylene generator including a gas producing chamber, a carbide hopper, a. valve for controlling passage or" carbide from said carbide hopper to said gas producing chamber, agitating means for agitating the carbide in the vicinity of said valve, means for conducting gas to said agitating means, an interrupter including a valve movable toward and from a valve seat for interrupting passage of gas to said agitating means, and pressure-responsive means arranged for operation independently of the operation of the carbide-controlling valve whereby said interrupter may be rendered inoperative.

4. An acetylene generator including a gas producing chamber, a carbide hopper, a valve for controlling passage of carbide from said carbide hopper to said gas producing chamber, pressureresponsive agitating means for agitating the carbide in the vicinity of said valve, means for conducting gas to said agitating means, an interrupter for interrupting passage of gas to said agitating means, and means whereby said interrupter may be rendered inoperative, the last mentioned means including a diaphragm operable independently of the operation of the carbide-controlling valve and adapted to function when subjected to a predetermined pressure.

5. An acetylene generator including a gas producing chamber, a carbide hopper, a valve for controlling passage of carbide from said carbide hopper to said gas producing chamber, pressureresponsive agitating means for agitating the carbide in the vicinity of said valve, means for conducting gas to said agitating means, an interrupter comprising a valve for interrupting passage of gas to said agitating means, and means whereby said interrupter may be rendered inoperative, the last mentioned means including a diaphragm, and means cooperable with said diaphragm adapted to unseat the valve providing the interrupter when said diaphragm is flexed by being subjected to predetermined pressure.

6. An acetylene generator including a gas producing chamber, a carbide hopper, a valve for controlling passage of carbide from said carbide hopper to said gas producing chamber, pressureresponsive agitating means for agitating the carbide in the vicinity of said valve, means for conducting gas to said agitating means, an interrupter comprising a valve for interrupting passage of gas to said agitating means, and means whereby said interrupter may be rendered inoperative, the last mentioned means including a diaphragm, and means comprising a pivoted arm cooperable with said diaphragm adapted to unseat the valve of the interrupter when said diaphragm is flexed by being subjected to predetermined pressure.

7. An acetylene generator including a gas producing chamber, a carbide hopper, a valve for controlling passage of carbide from said carbide hopper to said gas producing chamber, a valve stem connected to said valve, pressure-responsive means for agitating said valve to induce the flow or" carbide from said carbide hopper to said gas producing chamber, means for conducting gas to said agitating means, an interrupter including a valve movable toward and from a valve seat for interrupting passage of gas to said agitating means, and pressure-responsive means arranged for operation independently of the operation of the carbide-controlling valve whereby said interrupter may be rendered inoperative, said pressure l.

ARTHUR J. FAUSEK. IRWING F. FAUSEK. 

